There’s more to running a retail store than procuring and selling inventory. In the background, several processes go hand in hand to enable the smooth going of retail activities. Be it a retail shop, F&B, or service, all of them share a few core tasks daily. Namely, inventory, customers, sales, employees, account management, and more.
Traditionally, retailers would use spreadsheet software or paper-based tools to oversee daily activities. For the present retail landscape, those management methods lack integral features. Not to mention how manual intensive they are to use.
Oversights in efficiently managing retail operations impair store prospects. Some consequences are higher expenses, low productivity, operational errors, and poor customer satisfaction. And this is most often the result of using an inefficient retail management tool.
Currently, the POS system is the best retail management solution retailers can use. It is a nifty software application that packs a host of powerful store management modules. In this article, we outline seven compelling reasons to use a POS software solution. Let’s get started.
Why use a POS system?
Centralized control
Managing each retail activity like inventory and accounts individually consumes a lot of time. By focusing on each of them one after the other, there is a high tendency to lose track of other vital processes.
An overall view of all retail proceedings and having the tools to control them from a single location is a gamechanger. It not only reduces management time but it also improves decision-making. A POS solution provides this feature, acting as a central management hub.
Remote retail management
Being at the store all the time to manage store operations may not be possible. If you’re a retailer who is constantly on the move, your unavailability at your business can cause problems. With a POS system, you needn’t be at the store.
Cloud-based POS software is accessible from any location, at any time. All you need is a device that supports a compatible browser and the internet. With that, you can manage all your retail activities from A to Z remotely.
Insightful reports
Your retail store collects heaps of raw data over time. It includes transactional data, employee data, and inventory data. They contain meaningful insights that help identify bottlenecks in your retail workflow. That, in turn, allows you to optimize your operations to unlock higher productivity and ROI.
A POS billing software application automatically processes retail raw data into comprehensive analytics. It reveals what items are the best selling, what employees are top-performers, what discounts are working, and more.
Effective inventory management
Keeping track of what is available in the inventory, fast depleting, and identifying what to purchase is crucial. Manually, store staff needs to record each item sale into spreadsheet software. That is a slow process and also opens up room for errors.
With a POS solution, you can save significant time and money managing inventory. The software provides complete inventory visibility and updates stock levels in real-time. Furthermore, the software oversees omnichannel inventory. So your inventory levels will be synced up regardless of the channel customers use to buy products from you.
Simpler employee management
Employees certainly don’t enjoy having someone look over their shoulders to monitor their activities all the time. In fact, hiring an employee supervisor is an additional cost to the company. Implementing a POS solution in your store gets rid of all of that. It tracks your employee activities via monitoring entry, exit times, and idle time. The software also auto assigns work shifts and provides an efficient system to manage employee leave requests.
Discount management
Offering incentives and keeping track of them is simple with a POS software application. The software system allows you to create loyalty points, exclusive membership programs, and BOGO offers. After launching the incentives, the application tracks what discounts customers like and don’t like.
Account management
Creating invoices, adding GST and VAT, filing taxes are tasking activities. Causing any errors while carrying them out can be expensive, which leads to customer frustration and auditing issues. A POS system not only streamlines accounting processes but also automates them. As a result, your workload decreases and so does any chances of error to occur.
Hassle-free payments
Providing painless payment facilities to customers boosts customer experience. Consequently, your store will have more footfalls and turnover greater sales. Exceptional payment facilities accept multiple modes of payment. Not just cash. At present, technology is enabling consumers to pay for goods in multiple ways. Different customers may have unique payment preferences. If your store cannot process them, customers are likely to go to a store that accepts their mode of transaction.
Besides cash, customers can pay for goods via payment modes such as credit/debit cards, mobile wallets, and UPIs. Let’s go over what a UPI is. It stands for Unified Payment Interface. Using UPI, customers can complete transactions from the convenience of their smartphones. Merchants send the UPI transaction request by SMS to customers, or they display a QR code.
Can merchants use UPI in POS? The answer is yes. With an advanced Point of Sale software solution, retailers can accept UPI payments from platforms such as Google Pay. Retailers can choose to display the QR code on the software so customers can scan it. Alternatively, the POS software can generate a QR code on the payment terminal. The code contains the amount shoppers have to pay, eliminating the need to manually enter the price.
If you don’t have the facility to accept UPI or any other contactless payment, then the POS system is the best solution to invest in. Not only does it simplify payments, but it also simplifies a wide range of critical retail operations discussed above. Get the best POS and offer customers a fantastic shopping experience today.
Our compelling conclusion
Retail Point of Sale solutions is a must-have in any modern retail store. They speed up operations, eliminate guesswork, evoke better business decisions, and boost returns on investments. SmartPOS is an intuitive POS designed to handle the retail management needs of all types of stores. It is user-friendly, fast, secure, and cloud-based. Get it to enhance your retail prospects today. Reach out to us to know more.